A Midlife Cyclist having a midlife crisis... Part 2

Sub title: 'I am an Idiot' or 'What the F*CK am I DOING?'

I am not a single tracker. I was not aware that WORS is for single trackers. I should have not started my racing life in the Sport division. I am not in shape. I weight too much. Blah, blah, blah...

Race #1: Crashed within a 1/2 miles of the start. Top 2/3rds of race, top half of division. Not bad but not good.
Race #2: I suck--bad. Really bad.
Race #3: It is getting worse.
Race #4: Good 2 laps, but some bad tactical decisions. Lap 3 mechanical problems. Not an excuse, but failure on a $300 Shimano XTR rear hub is unacceptable.
Race #5: Getting better, but the single track is killing me.

I considered going back to drinking, eating and a pack a day, but now comes Chequamegon S&F...

Needless to say, I was not feeling the best the day of the race. I felt the 'cold' coming for days and on race day it was in full form. I figured enough OJ and nose spray will get me to the start and once the race starts, I will forget about it. I did.

Good start, but tactically I position myself incorrectly. But once the hills start, it is time to crush the competition and crush them I do. But something is not right, something does not feel right. I know what it is, but I am afraid to look...

The rear tire is going down. It is at that point I lay down a 1/2 mile of 4 letter words at the top of my lungs. What do I do? F*ck it. If I wash out the UST tire, so what...it would have been the icing on the cake for a sh*tty season. But for some reason, I forget about it because it is time to hit the real part of the race, the Birkie hills...and hit it I do. I estimate I dropped about 50 riders on those hills.

The final result: 88th out of 880. Placed 167 better than the previous year and 14 minutes quicker. I was not even being pushed, nor did I see anybody to pull me and I did it with about 22 lbs of air in the rear tire. The conclusion: I am capable of a top 10 in this race, even at my age. So....

I am going road and cyclocross racing in 2009. This is where I belong. The occasional WORS race and Beechwood (see below) will still work into the schedule, but this is not me.

Watch out for 2009, I am already getting pshyc'd.

A Midlife Cyclist having a midlife crisis... Part 1

“You’re crazy!”

“No one starts this at your age!”

“You will break before you succeed!”

Screw all of my loser friends for those comments...

Yes, at 43 I have no business starting a cycling racing career. After years of MTB’ing for exercise, I was baited into entering the 2007 Chequamegon Fat Tire Festival (Short and Fat 16). The 2007 season looked even more promising with several WORS dates planned. Then came three broken ribs while riding the new 2007 C-Dale for the FIRST time. Crushed and with training going nowhere, I was resigned to the fact that it would be better to stick to the exercise riding. Then with one month to go before 2007 CFTF and inspiration from ???, I hit the trails hard. Sitting at the starting line of the CFTF Short and Fat on my 43rd birthday was nerve racking. But one minute into the race—‘Hey this is fun!’ 2 minutes—‘This is A LOT of FUN!’ 3 minutes-‘This is better than beer and sex!’ (Well, maybe a close second). 1 Hour, 17 minutes later with a 255 out of 900 finish—A high I have never experienced, a high that inspired me for 2008.

As soon as the snow cleared in 2008, I hit the road training--HARD. The weight loss had not proceeded the way I wanted it to, so lugging the extra tonage up hills had to be dealt with. As I entered the first mtb race of the year, I am feeling good about my chances. So good in fact that I decide that Cat 4s are for wimps--I am starting as a Cat 3.

Part 2--Title: 'I am an Idiot' or 'What the F*CK am I DOING?'

I popped my Beechwood cherry...

My first Beechwood Blaster. Nothing but pain. Pain in places I have never experienced. Pain and more pain...but oh so exquisite....

A great first lap of single track for a roadie like me, but I underestimated the elevation and blew up on the second lap. The 'lap beer' now ranks as the most stupid thing I have ever done racing bikes. This includes the 4-5 beers I had the night before. Come to think of it, maybe the 100 beers that I had since Chequamegon and the 100 or less miles of training is probably the real reason for the lap 2 bonk.

But as long as the Curtes boys will have me back, I want to experience that pain all over again...and more. No more shutting down after Chequamegon--I need to redeem myself for 2009.

This event has a great vibe that needs to be experienced. Thanks Jay and Mike!!